The Vaalserberg (, Ripuarian: ) is a hill with a height of above NAP and is the highest point in the European part of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, also known as "Dutch Mountains". The Vaalserberg is located in the province of

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

, at the south-easternmost edge of the country, near the town of

Vaals Vaals (; Ripuarian: ) is a town in the extreme southeastern part of the Dutch province of Limburg, which is in the southeastern part of the Netherlands. The municipality covers an area of in the foothills of the Ardennes–Eifelrange ...

(after which it is named). Mount Scenery on the island of

Saba Saba may refer to: Places * Saba (island), an island of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea * Şaba (Romanian for Shabo), a town of the Odesa Oblast, Ukraine * Sabá, a municipality in the department of Colón, Honduras * Saba (river), ...

, which is in the Caribbean part of the Netherlands, replaced Vaalserberg as the highest point in the Netherlands, following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010.

Three-country point

The Vaalserberg is also the location of the

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

between

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and the Netherlands and so its summit is called the ''Drielandenpunt'' ("three country point") in Dutch, ''Dreiländereck'' ("three country corner") in German and ''Trois Frontières'' ("three borders") in French. On the Belgian side, the tripoint borders the region of

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

, including both the regular French-speaking area and the smaller

German-speaking area This article details the geographical distribution of speakers of the German language, regardless of the legislative status within the countries where it is spoken. In addition to the German-speaking area (german: Deutscher Sprachraum) in Europe, ...

. The German side falls within the city limits of Aachen in the state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

. Between 1830 and 1919, the summit was a quadripoint, also bordering

Neutral Moresnet Neutral Moresnet (, , , ) was a small Belgian–Prussian condominium in western Europe that existed from 1816 to 1920 and was administered jointly by the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (Belgium after its independence in 1830) and the Kingdom ...

, which is now part of Belgium's German-speaking area. Historical borders before First World War. Vaalserberg is located at the quadripoint in the top central area of the map.
Legend: Nieuwe Wilhelminatoren te Vaals

The current Belgian-German-border is not the same as the former eastern border of Moresnet with

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

but is a little more to the east. Therefore, five different borders came together at this point but never more than four at one time, except possibly between 1917 and 1920, when the border situation was unclear and disputed. The border intersection has made the Vaalserberg a well-known tourist attraction in the Netherlands, with a tower on the Belgian side ( nl, Boudewijntoren; french: Tour Baudouin; german: Balduin-Turm), opened in 1994 to replace the previous tower, built in 1970. It offers a grand panorama of the surrounding landscape. south of the point, a railway crosses the German-Belgian border in the ''Gemmenicher Tunnel''. It is the freight-only railway between

Tongeren Tongeren (; french: Tongres ; german: Tongern ; li, Tóngere ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the onl ...

and Aachen.

Four-borders road

The road leading up to this point on the Dutch side is called the ''Viergrenzenweg'' ("four borders way"), probably because of the former territory of

.The names of the roads in Belgium (''Route des Trois Bornes'') and Germany (''Dreiländerweg'') refer to only three.Se
Google Maps showing streetnames
/ref> Along the road on the Dutch side is the ''Wilhelminatoren'' observation tower, with a restaurant and forest trails. The present tower officially opened on 7 October 2011 and features a lift and a glass floor. The first tower at the site was built in 1905 during the reign of its namesake, Queen

Wilhelmina of the Netherlands Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World Wa ...

, and was demolished in 1945. The second tower opened on 11 August 1951 and was demolished over the winter of 2010–2011 because of its poor condition and high maintenance requirements.

Road cycling

The Vaalserberg is often used in the

Amstel Gold Race The Amstel Gold Race is an annual one-day classic road cycling race held in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. It traditionally marks the turning point of the spring classics, with the climbers and stage racers replacing the cobbled classic ...

and is climbed halfway through the race. The climb is named in the roadbook of the Gold Race as Drielandenpunt and is followed by the Gemmenich climb.

References

{{Commons category, Vaalserberg 'Tim Travel'
''Holland's highest mountain (& the strange story of Neutral-Moresnet)
(

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

) Highest points of countries Border tripoints Belgium–Germany border crossings Belgium–Netherlands border crossings Germany–Netherlands border crossings Mountains and hills of the Ardennes (Belgium) Mountains and hills of the Eifel Mountains and hills of the Netherlands Mountains and hills of Liège Province Mountains and hills of North Rhine-Westphalia Hills of South Limburg (Netherlands) German-speaking Community of Belgium Aachen Kelmis Vaals Quadripoints and higher

Three-country point

Four-borders road

Road cycling

See also

References